American Woman
by KTPOTTER
Summary: It’s Harry’s mourning over Cho's death the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts and he goes over Ron’s house. But Ron has a surprise guest. (Gasp! What will happen?) Can't do summeries, but read anyway.
1. Rules for my story

Hey! This is my very first fanfic I've done so I got a couple etiquette rules for you to  
  
follow:  
  
If you're going to review my story, please send constructive criticism,  
not insults. If  
you don't want to see any more stupid writing, you have to tell me how to  
not make stories.  
  
DO NOT COPY OFF THE STORIES I DO!  
  
I want to say now that anything anyone recognizes from somewhere else is  
not mine (Harry Potter characters, songs I may use, etc.) However,  
anything different you see (Ex: new characters), they are mine.  
  
I'll update this as soon as I can. Thank you for reading! 


	2. 2 An Invitation with Sorrow Attached

Rated PG for mild language and some sexual suggestiveness (maybe PG13 later)  
  
2.) An Invitation with Sorrow Attached  
  
Harry was awakening to the same sounds he has gotten for most of his life: Aunt Petunia screeching at his door to wake up.  
  
"Harry! Get up! Get up right now or I'll lock you in there! Get up and make breakfast!"  
  
Harry moaned an unenthusiastic "I'm coming" before he rolled out of his bed. Harry looked at himself in the mirror. He saw his bright green eyes, half closed with exhaustion, his jet-black hair, sticking up on all ends, and his glasses, which were hanging off his left ear. Sighing and shaking his head, Harry got dressed and shuffled down the stairs.  
  
As Harry was frying bacon with Aunt Petunia hissing the occasional "Don't let it burn", Uncle Vernon made his entrance, saying a jolly "Good Morning" to his wife and bellowed his usual "Fix your hair!" to Harry. Dudley came in next, which Harry predicted not because of the bits of plaster falling off the ceiling as Dudley pounded across the upstairs hall, but by the minor earthquake that occurred every time Dudley walked. As you might have guessed, Dudley was what Petunia called "stout". Uncle Vernon called it "a healthy size". Harry called it "the size of a killer whale with extreme weight problems".  
  
The family sat to their breakfast meal, with bacon and eggs (the Dursleys gave up the diet) and ate in silence. Harry didn't eat at all; he just pushed his food around his plate forlornly. Harry had been depressed ever since he had come back from Hogwarts because of the events that year. Harry had finally plucked up the courage to ask Cho (his crush) out and to Harry's greatest joy, she confessed that she had liked Harry for the longest time. Harry and Cho became the official "it" couple, but as most good do, it came to a tragic end. Voldemort attacked the school during dinner a few weeks before the end of the year. During the battle between the death eaters and students/faculty, Voldemort snatched Cho and fled the Great Hall. Harry spotted them and followed in high-speed chase. But when Harry reached them, all he found was Cho's body sprawled on the floor, dead cold. Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore found Harry cradling Cho's body on the floor, crying bitterly. Harry felt better than that horrible night, but he still felt a stab of sadness every time he thought about it.  
  
Suddenly, Harry heard a tap on the door. "Get the mail Harry" Uncle Vernon said, not looking up from his plate. Harry got to his feet, trudged to the door, and opened it. The mailman stood there, with the biggest smirk on his face.  
  
"Got a letter for a Harry Potter," he said, as if he were holding in a laugh. "I'm Harry Potter," Harry responded, confused. When the mailman handed Harry his letter, Harry cracked into a grin as well. He knew it was a letter from the Weasleys because, except for a few square inches on the front where the address was squeezed in, the letter was covered in stamps. Harry thanked the mailman and returned to the table.  
  
"What's that?" Uncle Vernon said suspiciously.  
  
"A letter" said Harry. "From my friend from school."  
  
"Uncle Vernon got up quickly, came over to Harry's side, and snatched the letter from Harry. "Hey!" Harry objected. "Give me my letter!" Uncle Vernon ignored him, ripping open the letter and reading it quickly. When he finished, Uncle Vernon threw the letter back at Harry, grunting, "Read it."  
  
Harry picked it up and read:  
  
Dear Harry, We got permission from Dumbledore to invite you over out house for the rest of the holidays. Were coming over to get June 31st at 12:00. Even if the Muggles won't let you come, we'll wrestle you away anyway. See you then! Sincerely, Ron Weasley P.S. Hermione is over here too! (P.S.S Mum and Dad have this grand secret that they won't tell us, they just say, "coming July 4th." Weird)  
  
Harry smiled and said "Well, I guess I'd better go pack then. Today is the 30th!" Before the Dursleys could object, he skipped out up to his room to pack. ************************************************************************ The next day, Harry waited by the fireplace alone (the Dursleys remembered the last visit from the Weasleys and decided to avoid it). At precisely 12:00, Harry saw the fireplace turn a bright green and something shoot out of the fireplace onto the floor. Harry, grinning from ear to ear, went over to pick up a very sooty Mr. Weasley.  
  
"Hello Harry!" he greeted. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine" Harry said, still depressed, but tried to cover it up. "Should we go?"  
  
"Yes, just take your trunk and drag it into the fireplace with you. You know what to do from there."  
  
Harry did so. He stood up right in the fireplace, yelled "The Burrow", and felt his body go into a violent whirl of color and then it stopped with a thump as he fell face-forward out of the fireplace.  
  
"Harry!" cried a pair of voices. Harry felt himself get picked up by two pairs of hands, which turned out to be the Weasley twins, Fred and George, identical down to the last freckle. "Sorry old chap" Fred said, as he dusted Harry off.  
  
"How are you old boy?" George boomed, helping Fred.  
  
"Fine," Harry said, trying to sound cheerful, although still depressed. "How's the joke shop coming along?" At the end of the year feast last year, Fred and George had told Harry that they had purchased a lot at Hogsmeade to start their shop.  
  
"Actually," George said, beaming, "We've gotten quite a bit business over the summer." "Quite", said Fred, beaming also. "We're having to restock the shelves almost every other hour."  
  
Harry smiled; glad they were doing so well. Harry suddenly felt a thump on his back before the red head of Ron Weasley appeared. Hermione, who had her brown hair tied up in a ponytail, followed him. Both had greeted Harry with a loud "Hey" before they peppered him with questions about his summer so far. Harry noticed, smiling inwardly, that Ron had his arm around Hermione's shoulder. Ron and Hermione had finally admitted their feelings to each other ever since the end of the year feast and been a happy couple ever since. Harry had been particularly pleased about that event.  
  
The rest of the Weasley family came in and greeted Harry: Ginny with her jolly "Hey, Harry", Mrs. Weasley with her "Hello, Harry dear", and Percy with his handshake and a stiff "Good afternoon, Harry".  
  
Mrs. Weasley had set up a lovely picnic outside for everyone to eat her most delicious food. As everyone was stuffing their faces with as much pie as they could get their hands on and chatting happily, Harry smiled and joined the conversation once or twice. However his mind was elsewhere. He kept asking himself why he had let Cho die like that? Why wasn't he quicker? Why didn't he protect Cho?  
  
Ron and Hermione must have noticed this because when Mrs. Weasley sent them all to bed, the three of them lagged behind so they could talk to Harry alone.  
  
"Um...Harry?"  
  
"Yea, Hermione" was Harry's reply.  
  
"Harry, Ron and I know you're still...depressed about Cho's death, but we want to know if you're going to be alright?" Harry looked at them disbelieving the fact that they would ever think he would ever be all right to the point where he thought them inconsiderate.  
  
"Guys, look," Harry said. "I loved Cho more than words could say and she was taken away from me for no reason. Can you honestly stand there and think that I'll ever be fully, one hundred percent okay?"  
  
Ron and Hermione looked at each other and then back at Harry, each face filled with sadness. "We just want to know if you'll ever be the same." Ron said, worried.  
  
Harry calmed down a little and replied "I'll be myself when I'm ready." To Harry's relief, that answer seemed to satisfy them both they all continued back to the house.  
  
But Harry knew that he would never be the same, he would always mourn over Cho and, as he slipped into bed, he swore to himself that he would never love another person like he loved Cho. Little to Harry's knowledge, someone would enter his life that would challenge that statement and turn his life upside down. 


	3. It came fromAmerica?

Hey all! Sorry about taking so long to update, but I have lots of stuff to do for the summer. But here is the 2nd chapter! Enjoy!  
  
3.) It came from...America?  
  
"Harry dear, you look terrible."  
  
Mrs. Weasley's comment was right on the mark. Harry's hair was more tousled than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes. Harry didn't get much sleep the night before because of the nightmares that consisted of hearing Cho's screams and Voldemort's evil laugh. But Harry tried to look cheerful so he wouldn't have to talk to Ron and Hermione about Cho again.  
  
Harry sat at the table with everyone else, listening to the conversations. Quite suddenly, Mr. Weasley proclaimed loudly, "Molly, let's just tell the kids already!"  
  
"Arthur! Don't ruin the surprise!" Mrs. Weasley scolded. "Oh c'mon, Mum" Fred whined. "We're absolutely dying to know what's coming!" "Yeah", George chimed in. "C'mon dad. Tell us!"  
  
Mrs. Weasley sighed in order to show her disapproval, but her consent as well. Mr. Weasley continued. "Well, as you all know, the date she's coming is July 4th..." "Wait a minute!" Ron cried. "SHE?"  
  
"Yes, she" Mr. Weasley replied patiently. "As I was saying, Dumbledore requested that we keep a foreign exchange student going to Hogwarts at our house for the summer. She's joining you three (he pointed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione) in the 6th year class. Exciting, isn't it?"  
  
The response was a mixture of many emotions; Fred and George considered it an opportunity for someone to test their newest jokes (Excellent!), Percy was annoyed because it would be one more person to worry about (Will she be quiet so I can get work done?), Ron was speechless (A new student?), Ginny and Hermione were excited (Finally, a girl our age to talk to for the summer!) Harry was surprised at the news, but he was more curious about this student more than anything.  
  
"Uh...Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked. Mr. Weasley somehow heard him over the roaring of everyone and looked expectedly at him.  
  
"Mr. Weasley, where is this student coming from exactly?" Harry inquired. "Oh, that's right", Mr. Weasley said. "She's coming from the state of New York, in America." Any excitement that came from having a student drained away at that sentence.  
  
"An...an American?" Ron sputtered in shock. "Dad, have you heard stories about those people? I heard they're really rude and...well, I heard the women are so promiscuous there. Like...like scarlet women!" Everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded furiously in agreement with Ron, but each secretly laughing that he used "scarlet woman" to describe them.  
  
Mrs. Weasley frowned. "Now stop this nonsense right now!" she ordered. "None of you have ever met her in your entire life so you have no idea how she behaves. When she comes here, I want you each to be on your best behaviors and nothing less. Is that clear?" She sent each person in the room an icy glare that made even Fred and George cringe. Everyone knew better than to contradict Mrs. Weasley, so everyone mumbled a "Yes, ma'am."  
  
"Ron, can we go up to your room for a minute?" Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry. "Yeah, Okay." Ron replied, still moving his mouth like a fish in disbelief.  
  
Back in Ron's room, Ron kept ranting about all the stories he had heard abut Americans, but Hermione cut him off. "Ron, your mum is right. You shouldn't judge people like that. You never even met the girl yet and you're making these unflattering assumptions about her. I say we try and give her a chance."  
  
Ron tried to object, but didn't know what to say. Instead, he turned to Harry and asked "What about you? What do you think?"  
  
"Well" Harry said, "I'm just really curious to see what this girl is like. I wonder why she's coming to Hogwarts so late." "I was wondering that too." Hermione replied. "I mean, she's the very first student I've seen that has  
  
"What I was wondering," Ron said, rather slyly to Hermione, slipping his arms around from behind, "Is why you always insist on meeting us up in my room?"  
  
"Oh, Ron stop it," Hermione said mysteriously, although she was giggling and blushing furiously. Harry, with a small smile, decided to excuse himself and leave those two alone.  
  
Harry went outside in the garden to walk and have some fresh air. He wondered what this girl would be like, what she acted like, how friendly this girl was...and then a thought dawned on him. What if she was single? What if Ron was right and this girl was rather...well, flirtatious? Harry made resolution to keep this girl as far away from himself as possible and not to give in to her at all. Another resolution, alas, that he would have trouble keeping.  
  
Hey! Author here! Any people who are British and reading this, I'm not saying all English people hate American's (it doesn't bother me if you do). I'm showing how stupid Ron can be sometimes (author grins broadly here because she is quite stupid herself). I'm really sorry if I've offended anyone. But anyway, I'll try to keep this as updated as possible (if you're annoyed at me for taking so long to update, you can come to my house and do all my chores for me). Pip-pip, cheerio, and all that rot! (I'm sorry to all the British people for that too, but I couldn't help myself.)  
  
(PS I'd like to say thanks to people who have reviewed.) 


	4. The Arrival

4.) The Arrival.  
  
"Ronald Weasley, look at your hair!"  
  
Mrs. Weasley, wearing her best dress robes, had lined everyone up in the kitchen to inspect them. During the past few days, she had polished and shinned the Burrow till the walls actually sparkled in the right light. At the moment, she was carefully scrutinizing every last person. She had even scolded Percy for not slicking back his hair properly. She was now inspecting Ron at the moment and she wasn't at all pleased.  
  
"Ron, come here." She began to brush his hair back and had a very firm grip on his head so he wouldn't wriggle free. Every single person was primped and polished like the rest of the house. Even Fred and George looked respectable, if not disappointed (partially due to the fact that Mrs. Weasley confiscated all their new jokes that they were going to test on this girl). "There" she said, stepping back. "Now, your father should be home any minute now with her. And may Merlin help you if anyone misbehaves. Is that clear?" Everyone, not wanting to invoke her wrath again, all nodded.  
  
Harry was nervous about meeting this girl. He turned to Ron and asked, "Do you think she'll be nice?" "I dunno," Ron replied. "Sssshhhh!" Mrs. Weasley hissed. "I think I hear them coming!"  
  
They all heard a loud popping noise out in the yard and then a loud squeal from a gnome. Harry heard Mr. Weasley say, "Oh bother! I'm terribly sorry!" "Don't worry about it, Mr. Weasley." Harry heard her voice and immediately knew she was from New York from her accent. He also heard that her voice sounded very husky, yet feminine.  
  
"Be ready everyone!" Mrs. Weasley whispered excitedly. Harry heard keys scraping the lock on the door. With a loud creak, the door swung open, revealing Mr. Weasley and the girl.  
  
Actually, to Harry, girl was a bit of an understatement. The word that fit this girl more properly was.....well, a woman. She was about the same height as Harry and she seemed to overflow with an air of confidence Harry had never seen with a person. Her hair was down and Harry saw that when she stepped into the room, the sunlight from the window made the auburn in her hair shine and stand out. She had a pale, oval face that was liberally decorated with freckles. She was wearing a tight white tee shirt that had an American flag on it and jeans that looked tight to Harry, but Harry noticed that the shirt and pants showed off her curves very nicely...Harry shook himself mentally and went back to her face. He noticed her eyes just then. He saw that they were hazel colored, but something in those eyes made startled Harry. They were deep, as if she had certain peacefulness about her. She was really, rather pretty.  
  
Mr. Weasley's voice brought Harry back to reality. "Everyone," he announced grandly. "I would like you all to meet, Elizabeth Jones." The girl...err, I mean woman, grinned and said, "Please, you can all call me Liz."  
  
Mrs. Weasley stepped forward with her hand out and said grandly, "Welcome to our home! I would like to introduce you to everyone." As Elizabeth stepped forward to receive Mrs. Weasley's hand, her right foot caught on the back of the step, tripping her so she fell flat on her face.  
  
Mrs. Weasley gasped and ran over to help her up. Everyone else started to giggle, but were silenced with a cold look from Mrs. Weasley. However, when Mrs. Weasley picked Liz up, everyone saw that she was laughing hysterically, bringing everyone back to his or her fit of giggles. Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley started to laugh. Harry noticed that she looked even better when she laughed.......again he shook himself mentally.  
  
"Whoa!" said Liz, as she wiped her tears away. "I haven't laughed this hard since...I don't know when!"  
  
"Why don't I introduce you to everyone?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Liz, this is my third eldest son, Percy."  
  
"How do you do, Elizabeth?" Percy said formally with a stiff handshake. She returned the greeting by saying "Just fine, thanks!" and giving him a slap in the back that nearly knocked his glasses off.  
  
"And these are the twins, Fred and George," Mrs. Weasley proceeded to say. "Absolutely smashing to meet you!" Fred exclaimed. "Yes", chimed in George. "Absolutely fantastic!" Fred and George both dived for her hand and she ended up crossing her arms to shake both their hands. Mrs. Weasley had a look of deep disapproval on her face, but Liz just even harder laughed again and replied with "It's great to meet you too!"  
  
"This," Mrs. Weasley continued, "is my youngest son, Ron, and my youngest daughter, Ginny." "Hey there!" Ron said shaking her hand enthusiastically. She returned the shake with equal enthusiasm. "Wonderful to meet you!" Ginny shyly shook hands with her and quietly said, "Pleased to meet you." Liz, with a kind smile, said, "The pleasure is all mine, Ginny."  
  
"This," progressed Mrs. Weasley, is my Ron's girlfriend, Hermione Granger." "Nice to meet you finally," Hermione said, slightly blushing from being referred to as a "girlfriend". Liz turned her head towards Ron, who was blushing as well, with a sly grin on her face. "Well, Hermione, basing my opinion on looks, you're quite the lucky girl." She gave Hermione and Ron a roguish wink each, making them blush even more.  
  
Then she turned her eyes toward Harry. She looked him over with great interest with her warm eyes. For some reason, Harry felt extremely nervous under her gaze. "And finally," Mrs. Weasley concluded, "This is Ron and Hermione's friend, Harry Potter." A moment of surprise came into her eyes as she did the all too familiar flick up to his scar on his forehead, but within an instant it was gone. It was replaced with her warm, calm look.  
  
Harry, starting to sweat a little, put his hand forward and said a polite, "Hello." She smiled and said "Hi." She stepped closer, a little bit closer than he would have liked. She grinned again, and said, rather seductively, to Harry's discomfort, "You know, if can say so, you're really good looking yourself." She gave him an even more mischievous wink than she had given Ron or Hermione.  
  
Harry, wanting to get away from her, said somewhat loudly to Mrs. Weasley, "Is it time for dinner?" Mrs. Weasley said "Oh yes, dear. Everyone out to the lawn!" As Harry hurried out with everyone, he stole a look at Liz. She was behind everyone else, with a look of puzzlement and, to Harry's surprise, a keen look of determination.  
  
Hey! Sorry again, but I have million's of things to do so it's taking me a while to upload chapters. Unfortunately, I'm going on vacation for a week or so, so I'm not going to be able to do this for a while. I'll load in a new chapter as soon as I can. The next chapter I think you're all going to enjoy and your going to get an even closer look into Liz and Harry's going to be a little less comfortable (author laughs and giggles madly here.) Thanks reading and reviewing! 


	5. An Apology from the Author

To my dear readers (or random people reading his), I am sorry to say that due to a lot of stuff going on in my life and writer's block, I am unable to finish this fanfic. However, I have a brilliant idea. Anyone who wishes to start a fanfic may use the beginning of my story to start off. You can also change anything that you want to change. I only ask that you thank me for starting you off. Just refer to me as KPOTTER. Good-bye and thank you for reading! 


	6. I'M BACK!

I'M BBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK KKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
You guys know how I said that I wasn't going to write anymore?  
  
Well.......................I kinda lied. Iwould love to finish writing the story just because I need something sappy I can come home and write to. *giggles* Anywho, I'm starting to get more god ideas to write with and my friends are going to help me (because I'm blackmailing them ^_^) Until next chapter, tata!!! 


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